Diabetes And Prediabetes
Have you been diagnosed with diabetes or pre-diabetes? Do you ride the ‘sugar rollercoaster’? Did you know that the primary reason for weight gain, chubbiness, and weight loss resistance relates to our hormone insulin and our blood sugar metabolism? Often, blood sugar dysfunction is the first domino that topples over, setting the chain reaction of those chronic diseases that fill the waiting rooms of physicians all over this country. Even if your family and parents struggle with these issues, it doesn’t need to be your destiny!
Imagine how life would be if you no longer needed prescription medications…
Imagine if you had the energy to be active and enjoy life…
Imagine feeling empowered instead of helpless against this devastating diagnosis…
By following our Radiantly Healthy MD integrative approach and enabling your body to heal itself, you can achieve every one of these goals. We will educate and empower you with a personalized plan.
Our goal here at Radiantly Healthy is to help our patients each step of the way on their journey towards achieving overall health. Our functional medicine and holistic approach are designed to identify the underlying causes of disease to implement healthy habits and lifestyle changes for minimizing symptoms, instead of simply suppressing them. Diabetes is no exception. Whether you are suffering from pre-diabetes or diabetes, we can help.
What is Diabetes?
Over 26 million Americans are affected by diabetes at an annual cost of over $218 billion per year according to the American Diabetes Association. Diabetes disrupts all aspects of our health and metabolism. Diabetes increases the risk of cancer, cognitive decline, heart disease, kidney failure, blindness, and more.
There are 3 main types of diabetes.
• Type 1 which is also sometimes called juvenile diabetes. This is an autoimmune condition where the immune system attacks and destroys the cells that produce insulin. It is caused by a genetic predisposition that is triggered by an environmental stimulus. This type of diabetes can happen at any age but is more common in children and teens.
• Gestational Diabetes occurs during pregnancy. It is a reliable indicator of the genetic predisposition for diabetes and metabolic syndrome. By proactively addressing the lifestyle and environmental triggers, we can often avoid ever having diabetes and related diseases.
• Type 2 Diabetes is a lifestyle disease that also can have genetic components. It makes up the majority of the patients with diabetes. Per the CDC, 1 in 6 adults between 45-64 has diabetes (see below graph).
What is Pre-Diabetes?
Before developing diabetes, a person goes through a process called insulin resistance. Our favorite analogy is to have our patients imagine your cell’s having doors that need keys to open. The ‘key’ is our hormone insulin. At the beginning of sugar dysregulation, the body makes extra insulin and our body puts the sugar into the cells – loading up their storage cabinets. This extra insulin often packs the sugar away a little too quickly and we start to have hypoglycemic episodes, especially after a large carb load. At this point, your labs still look great. Over time, the muscle cells quit making doors for the insulin ‘keys’ to open. Unfortunately, the fat cells never stop making doors and keyholes. This is when we start to gain weight quickly and lose weight very slowly. Oftentimes, the labs still look ‘normal’ here but over time they progress into the ‘pre-diabetes’ range. Insulin levels rise and are very inflammatory to the cardiovascular system, liver, nervous system, and more. By the time we meet the criteria for the diabetes diagnosis, we are markedly inflamed and depending on our genetics either chubby or obese.
Diabetes and Hormones
Blood sugar and metabolism are impacted by more than just insulin. Cortisol and our other adrenal hormones impact our blood sugar and insulin levels. Other hormones are released by the stomach and the adipose (fat) tissues that also can influence blood sugar and metabolism. Our team at Radiantly Healthy MD measure and utilize your results to create your strategic plan for reversing and healing diabetes.
Diabetes and Aging
When sugar builds up in the bloodstream, it interacts with the proteins of the body and creates compounds called Advanced glycation end products (AGEs). They play a fundamental role in aging. Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) damage the collagen and decrease the elasticity in your body. They also deposit on nerve fibers and in small capillaries leading to neuropathy and kidney disease.
Contact Us
As you can see, many key factors have an impact on diabetes and your overall health. If you would like to learn more about specialized tests and lifestyle changes for managing or preventing symptoms associated with diabetes, reach out to one of our caring professionals here at Radiantly Healthy to learn more. Contact us today and schedule your consultation towards wellness and vitality!